UK Union To Protest HP’s Plans To Outsource 200 Government Jobs To India

June 21, 2011

A UK industrial union is expected to protest the decision by HP to outsource 200 UK government jobs to India, according to news reports.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) employs at Lytham St Annes, Newcastle and Sheffield are engaged in IT support functions. The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union announced that it would take industrial action against HP’s plans to reposition jobs abroad. HP, however, has maintained that the involved workers would be absorbed in other roles.

The union was reported as saying, “PCS is calling on the government to fully consider the wider economic arguments,” adding that,”It is consulting its members about the proposals and has not ruled out industrial action,” reports ZDNet UK.

Mark Serwotka, General Secretary of PCS commented, “the government must not allow low-paid jobs to be offshored.” He continued to say offshoring “will be a disaster for UK workers and the tax payer and will only ensure that Hewlett Packard’s shareholders reap the benefits.”

Paul de Lara, HP spokesman said the savings from offshoring would be transferred to the U.K. government. He said that HP was in line with the government’s general guidelines for reducing costs in general; the outsourcing is not a decision that was made from “a single conversation around a particular contract,” ZDNet UK reported.

De Lara continued to say that the cost savings were a result of agreements with DWP and they have consented to it. Additionally, cost efficiencies will enable the company to cut costs for direct customers. He said that the PCS is not commenting on HP’s intention to redeploy misplaced staff into other departments of HP.”

The outsourcing process is expected to run into 2012, so HP feels that it has ample time to fit laid off workers into other projects undertaken by the IT firm. he reiterated that in nearly all cases where cost efficiencies are sought, the customers are the ones who benefit the most.​